Pages

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Getting Uncomfortable at Mom 2.0 2018

Yesterday was my first full day back in a somewhat routine state after returning Tuesday at 1a.m. from the West Coast where I attended the 10th annual Mom 2.0 with Mr. Lovebird. It was my second time attending (here's last year's recap), and this time around while I spoke again, there was also another looming theme for me: being uncomfortable.

Brené Brown's keynote on courage was the perfect lead-in to my session with Fostermoms on Parenting and Platforming Through Awakening: Using Your Influence to Speak Truth to Power.

{Click to enlarge my session description}

After blogging for nearly 10 years I've seen the way that the industry has changed and my session was literally born out of my Mom 2.0 experience last year and wanting to foster a courageous conversation regarding my own transition and awakening I've felt here in this space going from mommy blogger to activist. As a mom especially, I believe that I have no alternative than to be an activist - I can no longer continue business as usual only posting about my kids, meals, and travel adventures.

There's too much at stake.

In my session, similar to the one at Altitude Summit, we had a candid conversation on mine and Fostermoms' own "awakening" stories and what's spurred us to speak out on social issues. We also opened it up to our attendees to talk about what they've witnessed and experienced in their activism journey, acknowledging that we're all on different points along the way. What struck me most was while it was a diverse group, it was mostly white women dominating the conversation. This was even pointed out by a white woman which I appreciated, as well as the feedback from a black attendee who expressed that she attended to see who would show up as well as listen and observe what was going to be shared.

Yes, this was an uncomfortable moment, but to this point and in the work of speaking up, I completely agree: the onus is often put in POC to explain, share and call things out and honestly, we're tired. Yes, we have to work together, but it's time for white people, white women especially given the 53% data point, to take the lead.

This wasn't an end point - it's a starting point and thank you to the Mom 2.0 team for including this important conversation. As more of these conversations are included in influencer programming it will only increase opportunities for peers to show up and do the work. For now the conversation continues at Like2Action and by following the hashtag #like2action across social media.

Curious about everything else at Mom 2.0? The venue, the other sessions I attended and how Mr. Lovebird and I cleaned up nicely for the Iris Awards? Visit the highlights in my Instagram Stories for all the details.

Speaking of getting uncomfortable, it was very timely to see "This is America" go viral the day after Mom 2.0 ended. How did you feel watching it?

P.S. Want to join me in Austin for Mom 2.0 2019? Early bird tickets sales are finished, but sign up for the newsletter so you can be first to know when general sales open back up in September!